China Issues Praise to SARS Whistleblower

Published 8:00 pm, Monday, May 26, 2003

Associated Press Writer

Chinese media praise Jiang Yanyong as an "honest doctor" and an anti-SARS hero, but he is barred from giving interviews and isn't invited to ceremonies or news conferences.

The 72-year-old military surgeon is credited with breaking government secrecy to reveal the true scale of Beijing's outbreak. That was followed by embarrassing official admissions and the firing of a Cabinet minister.

Praise for Jiang has mounted as reports of new cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome decline. But the government's handling of Jiang shows it is still deeply uncomfortable with whistleblowers _ even those who might save lives.

In a brief phone conversation last week, Jiang said he hasn't been punished for writing a letter to reporters in April saying that Beijing had more than 100 unreported SARS cases.

However, he said he's been told not to give interviews without permission from his work unit, the People's Liberation Army No. 301 hospital in Beijing, where he was chief of surgery and still sees patients. The hospital has turned down all such requests from foreign reporters.

Chinese media have made Jiang a minor celebrity. The Web site of the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily said he should be awarded a prize for "services to society." The editorial called Jiang the "honest doctor who led the way in revealing the truth about the outbreak."

Officials have praised some whistleblowers _ in 2001, Premier Zhu Rongji lauded reporters for state media after they defied threats from mine owners and local officials to uncover a disaster that killed 81 people.

But authorities also fire crusading editors, imprison reporters and try to control the spread of information over the Internet.

Jiang says he still has his chauffeur-driven army car and other privileges.

It isn't clear why he hasn't been punished _ whether it is official embarrassment or his status as a soldier and Communist Party member.

And despite official promises of candor, experts still question the Chinese government's disclosures about SARS.

The World Health Organization says Beijing might be underreporting its figures because hospitals don't count patients who recover quickly and didn't have direct contact with a known SARS carrier.

Moreover, China's Supreme Court has given a blanket pardon to officials who might have covered up information, saying they won't be prosecuted if it took place before the government started taking "resolute action." It didn't give a date for that.